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Books a better buy here in Canada

While not immune to fears of a general economic downturn, publishers and retailers in the Canadian book business are cautiously optimistic at the start of this year's crucial holiday selling season, heaving a collective sigh of relief that 2007's toxic climate has lifted.

While not immune to fears of a general economic downturn, publishers and retailers in the Canadian book business are cautiously optimistic at the start of this year's crucial holiday selling season, heaving a collective sigh of relief that 2007's toxic climate has lifted.

A year ago, the value of the Canadian dollar was at par with its U.S. counterpart, which made the listed U.S. price – printed on the jacket – look like a bargain. The reasons for the disparity largely had to do with economies of scale and the lag time between when books are priced and when they go on sale. But none of the explanations carried much weight with consumers.

"It was completely unwarranted, but generally books were cast in a bad light last year, which affected publishers, too," says Carolyn Wood, executive director of the Canadian Association of Publishers, an umbrella body for the country's independent publishers. "That has all gone away this year. I haven't seen any customers singing odes to bookstore staff about what a great value a book is now, but it is certainly the reality."

No question, books are a better buy here with the Canadian dollar hovering below 80 cents (U.S.). Wally Lamb's new novel, The Hour I First Believed, is listed as $31.95 (Canadian), compared with $29.95 in the U.S., a savings of nearly $5 based on yesterday's exchange rate. Another recent arrival, Gerald Martin's biography Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Life is $38 (Canadian) and $37.50 (U.S.), a difference of almost $10 in Canadian funds.

"Books are underpriced vis à vis the exchange rate right now," says Random House of Canada president Brad Martin. "It's the publishers who take the hit on that. But them's the breaks, as they say."

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BookNet Canada, which monitors sales, reported that during a four-week period ending Nov. 23, unit sales in Canada were up by nearly 5 per cent over the same period last year, compared to declining sales in the U.S. and U.K. The dollar value of Canadian sales increased 2 per cent during the same period compared to the previous year.

"Having seen the numbers out of the U.S. and the U.K., where both markets were showing significant negative year-over-year numbers both in terms of units and dollars, to see the Canadian market in positive territory is kind of impressive," says BookNet Canada president Michael Tamblyn.

Retailers are noticing the uptick, says Nancy Frater, president of the Canadian Booksellers Association.

"The climate is much better this year," says Frater, proprietor of the Orangeville store BookLore. "My reason for optimism is that in challenging economic times, people do turn to books. As gifts, books have long-lasting value and they're reasonably priced."

Although largely anecdotal, the perception is confirmed by Jacqueline Hushion, executive director of the Canadian Publishers Council.

"In times of strife, whether it's war or an international issue or an economic downturn, it's interesting that books historically have fared pretty well in those kinds of situations," says Hushion, whose organization represents Canadian subsidiaries of large multinationals including Penguin and Random House. "I'm not talking about huge, record sales. I'm just talking about maintaining your position."

So far, Canadian publishers haven't reported the layoffs and downsizing announced in the U.S. by Random House, Simon & Schuster and others.

"I can't look into the future and say everything's going to be sanguine," says Random House of Canada's Martin. "We're doing a lot of cost cutting, but it's more discretionary, like cutting the number of sales conferences from two to one. But we believe that the organization that we have now is what we need to successfully publish books in this country at the level that we have been publishing them.

"What I can't tell you is what is going to happen to the market over the first six months of next year. It's concerning for all of us. But certainly right now we seem to be performing better in a difficult market than the two other major English-language markets."

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